Saturday, November 3, 2012

Salasacan Life

I’ve just finished my fifth week living
here in the middle of beautiful nowhere, aka Salasaca, Ecuador. I literally
can’t believe it’s been this long, the time has flown by. I’m now more than
halfway through my entire trip, and because it’s felt so short I’ve started
considering extending it past Christmas. Nothing is final though because it’s
turning out to be a really tough decision.

I’m still working as a volunteer at
Katitawa school, a small private(ish) school that runs about thirty kids from a
Quechua Indian community. The school is funded by Robert (the director) and
donors and previous volunteers from all over the world. One of the main things
that make this school different than the others in Salasaca is the presence of
the volunteers. Being exposed to so many different cultures is something really
special (for the kids and us), and the contact with native English speakers can
definitely be an advantage in a world where speaking English seems to be so
valuable.

I’ve been continuing my job as assistant to
the kindergarten teacher, and I have to say I’ve developed an incredible
admiration for anyone who teaches kindergarten as a profession. It can be a
challenge to say the least. We have a new teacher who is absolutely amazing
compared to the one we had when I first got here though, and she makes
everything so much better. But she was sick almost all of last week, so the
first day she wasn’t there I found myself trying to keep eleven four year olds
busy for three hours with no prior planning.

Three hours sounds like a short amount of
time until you hear “Yo terminé!!” (I’m finished) thirty seconds after giving
them an activity you were hoping would last a good twenty minutes at least.
After we colored several pictures, cut out circles, sang all the songs I could
think of, painted handprints, rocks,
pinecones, our clothes and some paper, we finally went for a walk to pass the
forty five minutes remaining until lunch. Take it from me, one adult to eleven
tiny children in an Ecuadorian countryside isn’t the best idea. After doing
some serious sprinting and backtracking and almost giving up as they ran
rampant through llama fields, roadside drainage systems, and a graveyard, I
vowed I would never have children. (Just kidding, mom ;)) But we did all (miraculously)
make it back to the school with wet shoes, muddy faces, and painted clothes
just in time for lunch.

Besides the kindergarten I’ve also been
teaching some English classes. Before this I had no teaching experience at all,
so it’s been a challenge for sure, but one I’ve enjoyed. It was exhausting
getting my planning together the first couple of weeks, but when everything
started coming together the results were very rewarding. I think with enough
preparation and experience I could really enjoy being a teacher in life back at
home too.

I’m still living here at Pachamama, the
volunteer hostel, but most of the people who were here before have gone and new
volunteers have come. Right now we are eleven; three Brits, two Australians,
two Americans, one Swede, one German, one Icelander, and one Slovakian. It’s a
fun group and I’ve made some good friends, even though we regularly argue about
things like what puddin’ is and how to say Adidas properly.

Right now I’m planning on leaving this
coming Monday and doing some traveling with my British friend Lucy for a week,
and then coming back for the school’s fifteenth anniversary party on November
10th and 11th (and also just because I can’t bear to
leave completely yet). After that I’m not sure, but I’ll go back to Quito to
see if I can help the Susongs for a little while at least.

In conclusion I was going to make a list of
all the things I miss from home, but it turned out I couldn’t think of enough
for a proper list, so I gave up. The only thing I truly don’t want to live
without are my amazing family and friends who I miss so much. Other than that
I’d take Ecuador any day. I love living in the middle of nowhere. I love seeing
Chimborazo out of my bedroom window. I love riding in the back of a pickup
through panoramic sunsets or up the side of a mountain. I love hanging out with
people from all over the world. I love coming home to Quechuan people dancing in
the living room (..sometimes). I love
walking to school on dirt roads. I love deciding which volcano we’re going to
hike this weekend.